For this assignment, choose to read either a Printz Award winner, a Newbery Award winner, or a book from the NEW 2010 Best Books for Young Adults list.
Judy Oakley Princess Academy by Shannon Hale/ Bloomsbury Publishing/2005
Summary: Miri, a mountain girl of Mount Eskel, is untrusting of the lowlanders who think that they are superior to mountain folk. Even when the chief delegate arrives to summon girls, aged twelve to seventeen, to the Princess Academy to prepare themselves for a year to meet the prince, Miri is skeptical. She knows, as Esa's mom says, "A surprise from a lowlander is a snake in a box." But, as with the other girls, Miri, named for the tiny, delicate mountain flower, obediently goes to the academy. At the academy, she meets the tyrannical Tutor Olanda, the handyman, Knut, and becomes, for the first time, exposed to interpersonal relationships with other girls and to competition and internal conflict. When danger rears its ugly head, it is tiny Miri who understands how to save her classmates. Along her journey Miri learns the definition of smart, the importance of friendship, the essence of loyalty, and the power of love. A Newberry Honor Book winner, Shannon Hale, author of The Goose Girl, has created a completely imaginary world as familiar as our own adolescence. Miri's quest culminates, as all good quests do, with self-discovery and self-realization.
Grade level: written on a 6.0 reading level, but any young, adolescent who enjoys fantasy will enjoy this book. Many life lessons are here if the reader is astute.
Uses: individual reading
Subject tie-in:
Literature: yes
social studies : yes
High yield strategy for reading skill development:
inference
cause and effect
author's purpose
theme
Comments: I thoroughly enjoyed this uplifting novel. It is beautifully written and teaches the importance of bravery, loyalty, friendship, love, and goodness in a time when, I think, young people need to be reminded of these values. Multi-leveled, Princess Academy (NOT to be confused with the movie, The Princess Academy) is a good reminder to all of us to stand up for those precepts in which we believe.
Jean White A Corner of the Universe by Ann M. Martin/Scholastic Press/2002
Newbery Honor Book
Summary: Hattie Owen looks forward to her summer in the small town, Millerton. Hattie’s family runs a boarding house with some interesting characters. Her only friend, Betsy, spends the summer away with her family. However, she develops a friendship with Lelia, a carnival kid. What Hattie does not expect is the arrival of an unknown uncle, Adam. Celebrating her 12th birthday at a traveling carnival, Hattie experiences events that ultimately affects everyone. This is a summer Hattie and her family will never forget.
Grade level: Upper Elementary, Middle, High
Uses: individual and class reading
Subject tie-in: English, Life Skills
High Yield Stategy for Reading Skill Development:
inference
cause and effect
point of view
author's purpose
summarizing for comprehension
Comments: This was a touching book. Hattie seems wiser than her age would indicate. She is very perceptive and sensitive.
Jean Downey The Tale of Despereaux by Kate Dicamillo/Candlewick Press/2003
Newberry Honor Book
Summary: Despereaux is unusually small mouse with great character. He is brave and determined, and he is in love with a princess. His adventures include a death sentence, a rat filled dungeon, and a kidnapping plot.
Grade level: Upper Elementary, Middle, High
Subject tie-in: Engllish, French, History, Psychology
High Yield Strategy for Reading Skill Development
1. inference
2. cause and effect
3. point of view
4. author's purpose
5. summarizing for comprehension
Comments: This is a great book for younger students.
For this assignment, choose to read either a Printz Award winner, a Newbery Award winner, or a book from the NEW 2010 Best Books for Young Adults list.
Judy Oakley
Princess Academy by Shannon Hale/ Bloomsbury Publishing/2005
Summary: Miri, a mountain girl of Mount Eskel, is untrusting of the lowlanders who think that they are superior to mountain folk. Even when the chief delegate arrives to summon girls, aged twelve to seventeen, to the Princess Academy to prepare themselves for a year to meet the prince, Miri is skeptical. She knows, as Esa's mom says, "A surprise from a lowlander is a snake in a box." But, as with the other girls, Miri, named for the tiny, delicate mountain flower, obediently goes to the academy. At the academy, she meets the tyrannical Tutor Olanda, the handyman, Knut, and becomes, for the first time, exposed to interpersonal relationships with other girls and to competition and internal conflict. When danger rears its ugly head, it is tiny Miri who understands how to save her classmates. Along her journey Miri learns the definition of smart, the importance of friendship, the essence of loyalty, and the power of love. A Newberry Honor Book winner, Shannon Hale, author of The Goose Girl, has created a completely imaginary world as familiar as our own adolescence. Miri's quest culminates, as all good quests do, with self-discovery and self-realization.
Grade level: written on a 6.0 reading level, but any young, adolescent who enjoys fantasy will enjoy this book. Many life lessons are here if the reader is astute.
Uses: individual reading
Subject tie-in:
- Literature: yes
- social studies : yes
High yield strategy for reading skill development:
Comments: I thoroughly enjoyed this uplifting novel. It is beautifully written and teaches the importance of bravery, loyalty, friendship, love, and goodness in a time when, I think, young people need to be reminded of these values. Multi-leveled, Princess Academy (NOT to be confused with the movie, The Princess Academy) is a good reminder to all of us to stand up for those precepts in which we believe.Jean White
A Corner of the Universe by Ann M. Martin/Scholastic Press/2002
Newbery Honor Book
Summary: Hattie Owen looks forward to her summer in the small town, Millerton. Hattie’s family runs a boarding house with some interesting characters. Her only friend, Betsy, spends the summer away with her family. However, she develops a friendship with Lelia, a carnival kid. What Hattie does not expect is the arrival of an unknown uncle, Adam. Celebrating her 12th birthday at a traveling carnival, Hattie experiences events that ultimately affects everyone. This is a summer Hattie and her family will never forget.
Grade level: Upper Elementary, Middle, High
Uses: individual and class reading
Subject tie-in: English, Life Skills
High Yield Stategy for Reading Skill Development:
- inference
- cause and effect
- point of view
- author's purpose
- summarizing for comprehension
Comments: This was a touching book. Hattie seems wiser than her age would indicate. She is very perceptive and sensitive.Jean Downey
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate Dicamillo/Candlewick Press/2003
Newberry Honor Book
Summary: Despereaux is unusually small mouse with great character. He is brave and determined, and he is in love with a princess. His adventures include a death sentence, a rat filled dungeon, and a kidnapping plot.
Grade level: Upper Elementary, Middle, High
Subject tie-in: Engllish, French, History, Psychology
High Yield Strategy for Reading Skill Development
1. inference
2. cause and effect
3. point of view
4. author's purpose
5. summarizing for comprehension
Comments: This is a great book for younger students.